• Walker in prank call: 'This is our moment'

    From NBC's Michael Isikoff:  Thinking he was talking to one of his major campaign backers, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker yesterday compared his stand against Wisconsin public employee unions to Ronald Reagan’s 1981 firing of the air traffic controllers, saying that it was a moment that changed the course of history and led to the fall of communism.  

    “This is our moment, this is our time to change the course of history,” Walker says, talking about his fight with the unions in a phone call that was secretly taped by a Buffalo man posing as billionaire oilman David Koch.

    Walker’s office today confirmed that it was indeed the governor’s voice on the taped phone call.

    In the conversation, the man posing as Koch — Buffalo Gonzo journalist Ian Murphy — says he’s got a “vested interest" in the success of the governor’s efforts and, when its all over, offers to fly Walker out to California and “show you a good time.”

    “All right, that would be outstanding,” Walker says in response. “Thanks for all your support.”

    Here are some excerpts from the closing portions of their 20 minute conversation, as transcribed by NBC News:

    Walker recounts to Koch/Murphy a dramatic talk he gave to his Cabinet over dinner on the evening of Feb. 6, the Monday night after the Green Pay Packers victory over the Super Bowl. It was, Walker, says, the “last hurrah before we were going to drop the bomb.”

    Walker notes that 30 years ago, Ronald Reagan — “whose hundredth birthday we just celebrated the day before — had one of the most defining moments of his political career when he fired the air traffic controllers. …That was the first crack in the Berlin Wall and the fall of communism because from that moment forward the Soviets and the Communists knew that Ronald Reagain wasn’t  a pushover.”

    “And I said, ‘this  may not have as broad world implications, but in Wisconsin’s history, little did I know how big it would be nationally. This  is our moment , this is our time to change the course of history.’”

    Walker continues: “I had a cabinet  meeting this morning. I reminded them of that – for those who thought I was being melodramatic."

    At that point, Murphy posing as Koch says: “I tell you what Scott. Once you crush these bastards, I’ll fly you out to Cali and really show you a good time.”

    “Allright, that would be outstanding," Walker replies.  "Thanks for all the support and help ... moving the ball forward and we appreciate it. … We’re doing the just and right thing for the right reasons. Its all about getting our freedom back."

    Murphy/Koch: “Absolutely, and you know, we have a little bit of vested interest as well” (he then laughs).

    Walker: “That’s just it. The bottom line is were going to get the world moving here because it’s the right thing to do…Thanks a million.”

  • G.E. engine vote a defeat for Boehner

    From NBC's Michael Isikoff
    The surprise House vote today to kill $450 million to build a alternate engine for the Joint Strike Fighter was a big victory for an unlikely alliance that included the Obama administration and Tea Party Republicans determined to slash spending across the board, including the military budget.

    But it was also a  setback for House GOP leaders, including Speaker John Boehner, who HAS fought hard to save the project over the years.

    No budget item has been more heavily lobbied in recent weeks, with GE spending millions running full-page newspaper ads and hiring big-gun lobbyists, including Dick Gephart, Trent Lott and John Breaux. But a rebellion by freshman Republicans -- such as Tim Griffin of Arkansas -- swelled the ranks of opponents who argued that the country can't afford to pay another $3 billion over the next few years to build two engines for the same airplane. The final vote was 233-198 to eliminate the project. (General Electric is a minority owner of NBC Universal.)

    In effect, they contended, the GE alternative engine was simply a thinly disguised earmark and a classic example of pork-barrel spending. GE (and Rolls Royce) are partners in the project to develop the alternate or back up engine to the primary one being built by Pratt & Whitney in Connecticut.

    One of the biggest backers of the project: House Speaker John Boehner, whose district is just outside the main GE plant where the alternate engine is being built. (Boehner even cut a YouTube video last year extolling the virtues of the project. He reiterated his support for the GE engine just this week, but told reporters he would let the House "work its will" by having an up or down vote. As Speaker, he also did not personally vote on today's amendment.) Another strong supporter: House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, whose district includes a Rolls Royce plant.  Click here to see the roll call vote.

    *** UPDATE *** Boehner's office sends along the following exchange with reporters yesterday:

    REPORTER:  “Mr. Speaker, will the Republican leadership join Lynn Westmoreland in proposing to get rid of the money in the current Continuing Resolution for the F-35 extra engine?”

    BOEHNER:  “I suspect there will be a healthy debate on that big question.  As you all know that I believe that over the next ten years that this will save the government money.  But let’s have the policy debate out in the open on the House floor and let the House work its will.”

  • Gun-rights advocate: High-capacity magazine restrictions 'makes sense'

    From NBC's Michael Isikoff
    A leading gun-rights advocate says there is no constitutional barrier to restricting the sale of high capacity gun magazines such as the one used by accused Tucson shooter Jared Loughner and that such proposals are justified to prevent "looney tunes" from committing more gun massacres.

    Robert A. Levy, who served as co-counsel in the landmark Supreme Court case that established a Second Amendment right to bear arms, said there was no reason the court's decision in that case should apply to the purchase of high-capacity gun magazines.

    "I don't see any constitutional bar to regulating high-capacity magazines," Levy said in an interview with NBC. "Justice [Antonin] Scalia made it quite clear some regulations are permitted. The Second Amendment is not absolute."

    The comments by Levy, chairman of the board of the libertarian Cato Institute, come as Democratic Rep. Carolyn McCarthy of New York is preparing to circulate a bill tomorrow that would ban the sale or transfer of high-capacity magazines. Supporters took Levy's comments as a sign that at least some gun-rights advocates might be open to the idea.

    "For somebody like him to say this is significant," said Kristen Rand, legislative director of the Violence Policy Project, a leading gun control group. (Levy was one of the lead lawyers for gun rights in D.C. v. Heller, the 2008 Supreme Court case that overturned Washington D.C.'s ban on handgun ownership and affirmed that the Second Amendment encompassed an individual right to own firearms.)

    There is little doubt that any gun-control proposal will face tough sledding in the Congress. A spokesman said today House Majority Leader Eric Cantor is against the idea. One leading gun-rights group, Gun Owners of America, posted a statement on its Web site this week denouncing "liberal politicians flocking like vultures" to gain political advantage from the Tucson tragedy by proposing new gun control measures.

    But gun-control groups argue that measures like the one being proposed by McCarthy in the House (and Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), who is sponsoring a similar bill in the Senate) are so modest and reasonable that they could gain traction. Law-enforcement officials have noted that Loughner's high-capacity round magazine substantially increased the lethality of his rampage; he was able to get off at least 31 shots without reloading and was only wrestled to the ground when he tried to reload with another high-capacity magazine.

    The manufacture of such magazines were prohibited under the 1994 federal assault weapons ban, but that law lapsed in 2004 and gun experts say the sale of such magazines have since proliferated.

    President Obama, during his 2008 campaign, had supported reinstating the assault weapons ban, but soon abandoned the idea as politically impractical after taking office. This week, the White House has declined to respond to requests for comment on whether the president would support a restriction on high-capacity magazines.

    Although he is strongly opposed to most gun-control measures, Levy said in this case, "as a policy matter," restricting access to high-capacity magazines such as the 33-round ones used by Loughner makes sense.

    "It may stop a few of these looney tunes," Levy said. While saying that he saw it as a "close call, he said that that a restriction of "10 to 15 rounds makes sense."

  • N.Y. Republican wants to outlaw guns near officials, judges

    From NBC’s Michael Isikoff and Luke Russert
    New York Rep. Peter King, chairman of House Homeland Security Committee, will introduce a bill to ban carrying a gun within 1,000 feet of a member of Congress and federal judges. The measure will also apply to carrying weapons near the president or vice president.

    King announced the measure at a press conference today with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who heads a gun control group, Mayors Against Illegal Guns and who is backing the bill. King's move may indicate there may be gaining momentum for some sort of gun-control measures in the wake of the Tucson shooting.

    King's spokesman was unable to immediately say whether the congressman, who has been generally supportive of gun control measures, would back a separate bill being pushed by New York Democrat Rep. Carolyn McCarthy and New Jersey Democrat Sen. Frank Lautenberg to ban the kind of high capacity magazines that alleged Tucson shooter, Jared Lee Loughner, used during Saturday's attack.

    Here is part of King's statement:

    “Congressman Peter King today also announced that he will introduce legislation that will make it illegal to knowingly carry a gun within 1,000 feet of the President, Vice President, Members of Congress or judges of the Federal Judiciary. In the United States, it is illegal to bring a gun within 1,000 feet of a school. Passing a similar law for government officials would give federal, state, and local law enforcement a better chance to intercept would-be shooters before they pull the trigger.”

    King is a moderate Republican from a state with some of the toughest gun laws in the nation. He has often worked with Bloomberg on gun issues. It remains to be seen whether any of his fellow Republicans would sign on to such a bill. Remember, the new GOP-led House is composed of many members that have strong pro-gun ratings from the National Rifle Association.

  • Bachmann intel post about politics?

    From NBC's Michael Isikoff
    The country has a new guardian for its national security secrets: Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN).

    The outspoken Minnesota congresswoman, and Tea Party favorite, has been tapped by House Speaker John Boehner for a coveted slot on the House Intelligence Committee, giving Bachmann a new role as overseer of the CIA, the National Security Agency, and the rest of the U.S. intelligence community, her office confirmed today.

    The move comes at a time when Bachmann is seeking to burnish her national security credentials, as as she weighs a possible run for higher office. Bachmann's spokesman, Doug Sachtleben, confirmed this week that she is planning to speak at an Iowans for Tax Relief fundraiser in Waterloo, Iowa, later this month, a move that has fueled speculation that she may be planning to carry the Tea Party banner into the GOP presidential primaries.

    "She's not taking anything off the table as far as her political future," he said.

    Sachtleben said there was "no connection" between Bachmann's possible future plans and her recent request to Boehner serve on the House Intelligence Committee. Bachmann, who until now has not served on any committee that deals with foreign policy issues, wanted to serve on the intelligence committee, because "she was concerned as a mother" about the threat of terrorism and other national security issues. He did, acknowledge, however that the new position will be "helpful" in giving her "further credentials in the international area."

    The selection of Bachmann to serve on the intelligence committee has already created a buzz among our House colleagues, especially among Democrats who noted her penchant for provocative, if sometimes not fully supported, statements on a range of issues. Bachmann, for example, was one of a number of conservatives who fueled false claims that President Obama's official trip to India after the election was costing taxpayers $200 million a day. (When challenged, Bachmann told the BBC she was only "quoting a newspaper out of India.")

    One House Democrat, who asked for anonymity, said the real issue about Bachaman is "will she able to keep quiet" about everything she gets briefed on in the intel committee since almost all of it is classified. Sachtelben, Bachmann's spokesman, said the congresswoman has already discussed this with her staff and "she understands the terms."

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